Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-21768

Microsoft Windows 11 21h2 … 22h2

High EPSS
Published
10 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.65 99.2th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-21768 is a high-severity Untrusted Pointer Dereference (CWE-822) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 11. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 0.8% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2023-21768 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock. It carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 and is associated with CWE-822. The flaw permits a local attacker to obtain elevated privileges on affected Windows systems.

An attacker with existing local access and low privileges can exploit the issue without user interaction, resulting in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the target host.

Microsoft publishes mitigation guidance for this vulnerability through its Security Response Center update guide at the referenced URL. The current EPSS score stands at 0.7442 after reaching a peak of 0.7683.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

CWE(s)
CWE-822NVD-CWE-noinfo

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

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CVE-2026-50479Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022
CVE-2025-29812Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022
CVE-2025-24084Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022
CVE-2024-43529Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022
CVE-2024-43631Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022
CVE-2023-29360Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022
CVE-2024-26254Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022
CVE-2026-50382Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 11
21h2, 22h2
microsoft
windows server 2022
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent introduction of untrusted pointer handling during development.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect adverse events resulting from exploitation of the weakness.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover instances of this weakness via code review or scanning.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect pointer-dereference flaws before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes pointer-safety practices that reduce untrusted pointer dereference risk.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can mandate validation of pointers obtained from untrusted sources.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage direct use of untrusted values as pointers.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid dereferencing pointers derived from untrusted input.

References